Fire truck upgrade recommended for expected growth in town

The Hinton Fire Department is in the market for a new ladder truck, and the town’s fire chief recommends a $1.1-million upgrade to better deal with Hinton’s anticipated growth.

The Fire Department’s existing ladder truck is 23 years old. Besides escalating maintenance costs, continuing to use the aging ladder truck two years from now would affect Hinton’s fire insurance premiums once the truck reaches 25 years. The Hinton Fire Department estimates that this would mean an additional $48–84 for annual home insurance rates.

“We just put $70,000 into the existing truck two years ago to replace the water leaks,” said Hinton Fire Chief Peter Ensor, as he presented options for a new ladder truck to town council at an Aug. 13 standing committee meeting.

Ensor anticipates it will take two years to acquire the vehicle, including one year to decide on designs and another year for the truck to be built.

The local fire department currently uses a straight-stick ladder truck, which can reach up to three storeys with the 65-foot ladder completely extended at a safe angle. The estimated cost to replace this truck is $927,000, but Ensor suggested upgrading to a truck equipped with a platform attached to an extending arm. This arm stretches to 115 feet, allowing the “articulating boom” feature to reach six storeys up for rescue and fire fighting operations. Another advantage of the articulating boom truck is that the platform at the end of the arm can support up to 1,000 pounds, compared to the 500-pound capacity of the existing fire truck’s ladder.

The more advanced truck would cost between $1.1 and 1.3 million, but Ensor stressed that it would be better suited for the taller buildings the town expects to see in Hinton over the coming decades.

“Is it more than we need today? Absolutely, but keep in mind that this truck is slated to last 20 years,” the fire chief said, adding that the articulating boom could also be used for river rescue.

Jean Anne Fraser, Hinton’s director of planning and technical services, said she has heard of a demand for higher hotels and apartment buildings in town, bringing a greater density of homes.

“Residentially, I know we’re looking at a smaller footprint of land and a higher structure,” added Coun. Jane Macridis.

Alberta currently requires structures built from wood-framed combustible materials to not exceed three storeys. Anything taller must be made from non-combustible steel and concrete, but Ensor expects these combustible building requirements will soon change to a limit of six storeys, as is the case in Ontario and British Columbia.

“If we’re looking at going to bigger buildings, then this is the sort of apparatus that I would require to be able to deliver a rescue service for a combustible construction structure,” Ensor said of the articulating boom truck.

“The reality of fires is that it’s not usually the fire that kills the occupant, it’s the smoke,” continued the fire chief. “The smoke rises a lot more quickly, so the people that are higher [up] are at greater risk.”

Coun. Bill Bulger said the articulating boom truck could be better suited for fires on the local streets where hills are a factor for firefighters, as he observed from a house fire on Seabolt Square last February.

“Some of these homes are built up on the hill and the truck’s parked below, so automatically you have another floor there,” he said. “Just watching them struggle with the hose at the top of that narrow stick ladder, that’s tricky work. A platform would be much safer.”

Council’s selection of the best fire truck will be brought to the next public meeting Aug. 20.